6 Small Meals a Day?

Jeeplet18 wrote: »

Hey there everyone -
I have just had a bout with pancreatitis that put me in the hospital for 5 days (I actually got out this morning - woot woot.) I did a lot of research about dealing with pancreatitis while I was in the hospital and I learned that once you have it, you have a better chance to get it again. One recommendation I kept reading over and over again (besides eating anti-inflammatory foods, and low fat) is eating 6 small meals a day. According to what I have read, 6 small meals is easier on the pancreas and it doesn't "stress it out" like three larger meals would.
Now, I have been considering this and it makes sense I suppose and am willing to give it a shot for now and see what happens. However, I am finding it hard to wrap my mind around breaking up a whole day into 6 small meals ranging in 300 to 150 calories each (that would equal my 1300 calorie goal for the day).

Is there anyone here that follows a similar meal plan of eating several small meals a day (this has nothing to do with pancreatitis or WHAT foods to eat for that). I just want to get some ideas on what YOU eat day to day to get all your calories in. I appreciate anyone's help with this!!!

So my wife had pancreatitis for about a year and a half. Ever since, she still maintained about 2 or 3 meals a day, and mainly just focuses on whole foods. She doesn't do low fat or anything. Since then, she hasn't had any more bouts of it.

In general, breakfast will either be eggs, english muffin, pancakes, bacon, yogurt or a combination if that.

Lunch is a combination of either a sandwich, fruit, yogurt, etc.....

Dinner has largely been unchanged as well. So she will eat, steak, chicken, pork, yakisoba noodles, seafood, etc..

Oh, I also eat a heart healthy diet as my husband and I both have high cholesterol. That part was tricky but I've used emeals.com to help me plan for our weekly eating and it is a fabulous resource. Takes all the guess work out of meal prep for me.

That is my natural eating pattern.

Yogurt, fruit, and nuts
Half a pita stuffed with chicken and baby spinach
Fruit, cheese, crackers
Half a bagel with cheddar and turkey
Overnight oats with fruit
Chocolate protein shake made with milk and coffee
Carrots or broccoli and hummus or guac
Small amounts of leftovers

I do eat larger dinners with my family, but breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack are usually between 200-300 cals.

Today so far, I’ve had a protein shake (8am), grapes and sharp cheddar (12pm), a bowl of yogurt with apples and sliced almonds (3pm). I’ll eat the rest of the day’s calories at dinner, but I could split it over dinner and an evening snack. If I lived alone, I would.

Good luck in figuring out what works best for you!

I don't understand what small meals will do for "not stressing" the pancreas. Is the theory that you are working it less at a time? Wouldn't that be immediately offset by working it more often? If it is processing the same amount of food each day anyway couldn't someone argue that eating less meals will allow the pancreas to be "idle" more in between? I don't really have a clue as I am no expert.

If the doctor didn't recommend a special eating pattern I wouldn't jump into it based on some internet article if it is going to be a hassle. I would confirm the benefit.

NovusDies wrote: »

If the doctor didn't recommend a special eating pattern I wouldn't jump into it based on some internet article if it is going to be a hassle. I would confirm the benefit.

+ 1

I'm a big fan of experimenting, so I'm in favor of trying different styles of eating to see how you like them and what they offer that you'd like to keep going forward. But if this ends up being a pain or you just don't find it satisfying, I wouldn't try too hard to make yourself do it unless your dr confirms it matters. Also, since you're already eating such a low calorie-level to begin with, it's unlikely that eating 3 meals a day would cause undue stress when it's 1300 calories that you're dividing.

As to your question of what to eat, I've eaten like this in the past and sometimes do now. I actually find small meals of 150-350 calories pretty satisfying when I eat every few hours. What I ate would change a lot, but for a sample, I'd eat: (meal 1) Greek yogurt, sometimes with fruit or nuts, (meal 2) a frozen meal in the 200-300 calorie range, (meal 3) protein bar with tea, (meal 4) steak, (meal 5) big serving of roasted veg, (meal 6) Yasso bar or a serving of ice cream.

I'm sorry you went through that illness and hospitalization. Best wishes on staying healthy and pain-free!

I've had food issues lately, so I've been eating small amounts every couple of hours instead of my usual three square meals. The way I do it is just to plan a regular meal, but eat parts of it at different times -- so if I'm having cottage cheese, fruit, and toast for breakfast I might eat the toast by itself at breakfast time, then the cottage cheese and fruit mid-morning. If I'm having a sandwich and crudites for lunch, I'll have half the sandwich and a few veggie nibbles at 12, then the other half sandwich and the rest of the veg mid-afternoon. Chicken, broccoli, and quinoa for dinner becomes chicken alone at dinnertime, then broccoli and quinoa before bed. Etc. I often break the meals up even further on days I'm really, really struggling; I end up eating sort of constantly, but it gets the calories in!